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Greipel wins drizzly sixth stage of Tour de France

Sprint specialist Andre Greipel won a drizzly sixth stage of the Tour de France on Thursday, as crashes again thinned the pack of support riders for rivals hoping to strip Vincenzo Nibali of the yellow jersey.

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Greipel wins drizzly sixth stage of Tour de France

Jamey Keaten
12:14 a.m. EDT July 11, 2014

Germany’s Andre Greipel celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the sixth stage of the Tour de France on Thursday between Arras and Reims, northern France. AFP PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURELIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images
(Photo:
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images
)

REIMS, France – Sprint specialist Andre Greipel won a drizzly sixth stage of the Tour de France on Thursday, as crashes again thinned the pack of support riders for rivals hoping to strip Vincenzo Nibali of the yellow jersey.

The German champion collected his sixth career Tour stage victory in Champagne country and the celebrated capital of many French kings by outpacing Norway’s Alexander Kristoff in second and France’s Samuel Dumoulin in third.

At the end of the 194-kilometer (120-mile) ride from Arras to Reims, Greipel burst out of the pack with less than 300 meters left, and clenched his fists, shouting, at the finish. His job was made a bit easier because Marcel Kittel, a fellow German who has won three stages and dominated the sprint finishes, got a flat tire right before the end.

“I had really good punch today, I am really happy,” said Greipel, the Lotto Belisol rider who turns 32 next Wednesday. “Of course I’m not looking at Kittel. I don’t need to hide. I am still one of the fastest in the bunch.

“There was a lot of pressure on us, on my shoulders,” for a win, he added. “It’s a big relief for us.”

The top of the standings didn’t change, as most of the contenders for victory in the three-week race trailed close behind the muscular Greipel. He was not a challenger for the overall title; like many sprinters, he does not fare well on the climbs that are crucial to winning in Paris. He’s 37½ minutes behind Nibali.

Overall, Nibali has a two-second lead over teammate Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was third, 44 seconds back. Two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador, a day after losing about 2½ minutes to Nibali, was dealt another setback: His Saxo-Tinkoff teammate Jesus Hernandez dropped out after a crash.

Among other possible contenders, Richie Porte was 1 minute, 54 seconds back, in eighth place. The Australian inherited the leadership of Team Sky after injured defending champion Chris Froome dropped out on Wednesday following two crashes in a rain-splattered ride.

Porte, too, lost a teammate: Spanish veteran Xabier Zandio was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital with a suspected rib fracture and severe back injury in a group spill with about 79 kilometers left, according to the race medical report. It listed a total of 14 riders with varying injuries from “two big crashes.”

American Andrew Talansky, winner of the Criterium du Dauphine last month, was ninth 2:05 back overall. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde was 10th, 2:11 back, and compatriot Contador was in 18th, 2:37 behind.

The Tour has another mostly flat Stage 7, a 234.5-kilometer (146-mile) trek from Epernay to Nancy – the second longest stage – on Friday.